No Such Thing as a Simple Mission

I have heard some people say knowledge is power while others believe ignorance is bliss.  I choose to agree with both expressions because I know how true they can be.  For generations, my family and I have used our knowledge to battle the dark, twisted and horrifying evil that lies just beyond the sight of humanity.  Our skills and information have helped us succeed but if the public knew of the dangers that threaten them, they could be driven insane with fear.  For some, it is best that they know as little as possible.  For others, knowing the full picture could mean the difference between life and death.

Years of training with my family prepared me for my duty and my latest mission unfolded precisely as I had anticipated.  Although it may have seemed like a routine Purge, everyone in my family knows there is nothing routine or simple about killing a werewolf.  Nevertheless, I was determined to strike as quickly as possible to prevent the target’s escape and I was ready for anything.  Well, almost anything.

It was a cool May night in Prague and I eagerly awaited my quarry outside the rear exit of a dilapidated hostel.  He had fled the more glamorous and well-kept districts of the city to an older section where the nightlife would be less dense and unlikely to provide any complications.  I knew he would be hungry during the night; the complimentary meal he was served by the hostel wouldn’t satisfy him long and devouring fellow guests would draw too much attention, even for a rogue like him.  Therefore, I calculated that his course of action would be to visit the butcher shop not far down the road from the hostel.  As I made one final check of my weapons I smiled at the thought of the target’s dinner preceding his death.  A Last Supper.  It was strangely ironic to me but I soon focused my mind on the task at hand.

The door opened and I spotted my target in the yellow light.  He was dressed in loose-fitting jeans and a grey shirt with long sleeves that appeared too thin for the low temperature.  I straightened my own clothes and wrapped my fingers around the dagger in the right pocket of my dark, shortened, trench coat.  Despite standing several meters away from him, I could still make out my target’s youthful yet rugged features.  Everything from his dirty and unkempt brown hair to his darting eyes matched the photos I had acquired from city security cameras and the information I learned from witnesses.  Certain of my target’s identity, I began to walk down the street towards him.

My breathing was calm and my heartbeat was steady.  He would never have suspected a thing if a man had not approached him at the same time as me from the opposite direction.  Our eyes met and I could see surprise behind them.  No sooner did we see each other did my target suspect he was in danger and took off with startling speed.  I reached for the throwing knife I kept beside my pocket sheath and let it sail through the night air with the curse that escaped my lips.  My technique prevented the blade from spinning as it flew and dug itself into the target’s right shoulder.  His pained grunt echoed down the street but he did not otherwise falter.  It was then that I heard a series of muffled metallic cracks ring out from behind me.  I whirled around to see the mysterious newcomer pointing a bulky black handgun at the fleeing man.  Grey wisps of vapor rose from the barrel but I didn’t smell gun smoke.

“He bolted and is heading east.  I put subdermals in him but I don’t think it’s enough.” the man said to nobody in an American accent.  I should have inferred that he was speaking to someone on a radio at the time but I all thought about was catching up to my target.  The man lowered his strange weapon and turned to me.  He spoke in less than perfect Czech but I still understood him.  “Please remain calm, miss, but I’m going to have to ask you to-”

I never gave him the chance to finish speaking.  He was disarmed and on his back within seconds which I would have preferred to have avoided but then again I never expected anyone to interfere with my mission.  He said something about me being armed and I wondered who he could be talking to when another man stepped onto the street in front of me.

“Zastavit!  Stop!” he shouted firmly.  I continued to run strait at him which prompted him to draw his own weapon.  I probably don’t need to say that it was a mistake for him to do so because this only made him a threat in my eyes.  However, I only evaded him with minimal violence on my part.  To my surprise, instead of giving chase he merely regained his balance and spoke into his radio.  I knew these men and whoever was on the other end of their radios must be after my target too, but I couldn’t let them find him first.  Whether they were police or some kind of bounty hunters, I feared they had no idea what kind of creature they were dealing with.  Their ignorance here would lead to their deaths and I felt my window to eliminate the target was closing fast.

I prayed my throwing knife was still imbedded in my quarry and as I looked at my cell phone screen I breathed a sigh of relief.  The GPS tracking beacon in the knife handle transmitted the target’s location as I had hoped.  Unfortunately for me, he had run deeper into the sparsely populated district where the lights were dim and every advantage would be his.  Compounding my troubles was the very likely possibility that he had transformed and ready to strike back now that he knew he was being followed.  Nevertheless, I had my duty to perform and no hell dog like him could deter me.

The signal led me to an old arrangement of shops and restaurants with boarded windows and unreliable, grimy streetlamps.  It would have been suicidal to use my dagger alone so I readied my handgun loaded with .45 ACP cartridges.  Though not exactly compact, quiet or elegant, it possessed enough stopping power for my needs.  As an added benefit, I had outfitted it with a flashlight underneath its barrel which freed my left hand to hold my blade.

My soft-soled shoes silenced my footsteps but I was certain that I could still be heard by my quarry.  Perhaps I would go unnoticed if he was still in his human form but I had a growing suspicion that I would be confronting the beast.  I paused after every few steps I took into the alleys behind the shops and listened intently for any signs of his presence.  The signal told me he was somewhere within 20 meters from the alley but I could not find so much as a shoeprint or piece of clothing to reveal the target’s position.  I scanned the area to no avail, my heartbeat quickening with my frustration, and I was about to leave when a sharp, metallic clink cut through the silence.  I whirled around and shone my light in the direction of the sound to find my throwing knife lying on the concrete with blood on the blade.  The hair on the back of my neck stood on end when I realized too late what had happened.

He pounced from somewhere behind me, most likely a rooftop, and landed without almost any noise.  The only shot I managed to fire missed but I did find a way to make sure my dagger connected with him as he tackled me.  The wound I inflicted bought me enough time to counterattack but I was too disoriented from his surprise strike to succeed.  I felt his claws rake across the back of my trench coat and meet my skin.  It burned painfully but adrenaline soon kicked in as I twirled around with the blade poised to return the damage.  I was fast but he was regrettably faster and before I knew it, he threw me across the alley where I landed on my back.  Stunned, I watched his tan and grey form creep up on me menacingly with his lips pulled back over his teeth.  In the skirmish I had lost both of my weapons but as I prepared to die fighting the beast with my bare hands I saw my pistol on the ground not too far away.  The knowing glint in my opponent’s golden eyes told me he saw the pistol too as I dived for the weapon.  He charged as soon as I moved but he was still faster than me.  I gripped the pistol but he was only a half a meter away by the time I could aim it.  His fangs were bared and his clawed forepaws were ready to tear into me.  I spat a curse as I knew he had beaten me to the draw and my death was near.  It would have been too, if not for unexpected company.

Another figure, or rather, the blur of one, intercepted my attacker and tumbled into one of the shadows of the back alley.  They growled and snarled as they fought, biting and slashing at each other in the darkness.  Still on my side, I aimed the pistol’s flashlight at the scene to find two werewolves engaged in a fierce brawl.  I recognized my attacker as he traded strikes with a similarly sized opponent with a grey coat of fur.  I took aim and unloaded my magazine into the pair.  As the slide locked back, my target delivered one last swipe across the newcomer’s muzzle and used the opportunity to swiftly escape the alley.  Before I could get to my feet and reload, I found myself staring down the barrel of the strange gun I had seen earlier.

“Nepohybujte.  Don’t move.” said a stern voice from behind the weapon.  The man who had spooked my target stood before me.  He wore a pair of faded, dark blue cargo pants and a matching lightweight jacket.  He must have been somewhere in his late twenties or early thirties and his brown hair was cut short and had an almost military style to it.  I noticed that he kept his distance from my legs as if he was expecting me to attempt to disarm him again.  “Zustan tam.  Stay right-”

“I speak English.”  He stared at me for a moment before showing signs of relief on his face.

“Well then that will make things easier.  My Czech isn’t perfect,” he said.  I know.  I thought. “Now, who are you and what are you doing here?”

Before I could answer, someone else, a young woman, ran into the alley.  She was wearing similar clothing to the man except her pants were tan and her jacket was olive green.  Her own handgun was drawn and she quickly scanned the alley as she entered.  “Who’s that?  The civilian?” she asked.

“I’m not sure yet.  Check Arthur while I find out.” her accomplice replied.  The woman ran to my left where the two wolves had fought and knelt beside the one who remained.

“You’re pointing the gun at the wrong person here,” I said, “If you want to be safe, I’d suggest turning it on that beast over there before he takes your friend’s arm off.”

The man seemed confused by my statement but I would later learn why.  However, at the time it was I who was confused when the werewolf in the alley spoke.  “Is that how you thank people for saving your life?  You shoot them?”  He stepped into the light and I could see a few of his wounds had healed while the bullet holes took longer to close.

I could not understand why he was so calm or better yet, not ripping through the two humans in the alley with me.  The man had mentioned someone named “Arthur” but I thought it was impossible for him to be referring to the werewolf.  Do they know each other? I began to see how ignorance could be anything but bliss and for one of the few times in my life, I had little idea of what was going on.
 
“You still haven’t answered my question,” the man said, “and I believe you owe us that much for shooting our friend here.”

I sighed and looked the trio over.  I hoped if I gave them information, they would be more willing to enlighten me as well.  “My name is Isabella and I’m looking for a very dangerous individual.”

The man exchanged a glance with the woman and the wolf.  “I take it would be safe to assume you know what he is?  The existence of werewolves obviously isn’t something that surprises you?”

I shook my head.  “No, what surprises me is why he hasn’t killed us all yet.” I said as I pointed to the wolf standing on his hind legs.

“Whoa, hold on there a second.  No one’s hurting anyone here and I’m sensing a need to clear a few things up.  Let’s try this again,” said the man. “I’m Agent Noah Conrad and they are Agents Mendez and Miller.”

“You can call me Sandra.” the woman said, offering to help me up.  We were about the same height but it was the wolf that stood over me who caught my attention.

“Agent Miller?” I said.  I had never been close to a live wolf as calm as he was.  My usual close encounters involved more violence.  “I’m not sure I understand how a were-”

“How a werewolf could be helping out a group of normal folks?” he finished my sentence for me in a gruff voice.

“Yes.  I have only ever dealt with wolves interested in less noble pursuits.  They have always brought death and despair wherever they roam, preying upon the helpless, but I have never heard of one doing anything good or kind.”

“Okay, back to the questions.  What exactly has been your business with werewolves anyway?  You have a pretty interesting view for someone who’s aware of them.  Most people react less… what’s the word?” Agent Conrad said.

“Trigger-happy.” the wolf said flatly.

“I was going to say ‘unbalanced’, Art, but that works too.”

“If I didn’t know any better I’d say you’re some kind of assassin.” Sandra mused.

“I don’t prefer that term,” I replied calmly. “I am merely a humble servant of the Lord.  I am a soldier of the light who must dwell in the shadows to battle the wicked.  For Heaven and Earth I have faced Hell.  I am no stranger to the dark but it is still an enemy to be vanquished with the weapons of truth.”

The agents gave me skeptical looks and I was afraid I had been too vague.  After a moment, however, the wolf spoke.  “With all due respect, there’s only one important truth we need to get straight.  We are all on the same side and if we don’t get moving soon, the real threat is going to escape the city.  I get the feeling that you’ll find it hard to work with me.  Whatever the roots of that are probably pretty deep and five minutes of revelations won’t change your mind.  I understand that, but from one Christian to another, I’m asking you to help us catch this fugitive before he hurts anyone else.”

Part of my mind urged me to take Agent Conrad’s gun from him and strike the wolf down.  It was what my father and his father would have done.  They never would have trusted a deceitful vessel of evil like a werewolf but the more I thought about how I sounded inside, the more I realized I was lacking important knowledge about this situation.  All my life I had carried out my missions, blissfully ignorant to any truth besides the one I always knew.  I never considered the possibility that good people could come in all forms and although I did not fully accept Agent Miller then, I agreed to work with him and his friends.

I offered him my hand.  “Isabella.”

He took my hand in his forepaw and gave it a surprisingly gentle shake.  “Arthur.”

“Allowing a civilian to assist in a case isn’t exactly standard protocol but then again you’re not an average civilian.  You’re skilled but if we’re going to work together, you have to know we want this guy alive.  This is an arrest, not an execution.” Sandra said.

Then this should be interesting.  Dangerous, but interesting.  “I understand.  But do you have any idea where he’s heading now?  He removed the tracker I threw into him and it won’t be easy to pick up his trail again.” I said.

“Don’t worry.  The darts I fired at him left trackers under his skin.  As long as he doesn’t shift again or the batteries don’t die, we should still have a fix on him.” Agent Conrad said.

Sandra handed me my dagger and I felt better about our chances of catching our mutual quarry.  “That sounds excellent but unless you can run as fast as he can, I don’t see how we’ll catch up to him.”

Agent Conrad smiled and led us out of the alley where a navy blue van with a wide frame waited for us.  The woman in the driver’s seat lowered the window and gave me a friendly wave.  “Agent Courtney Straus.  Nice to meet you,” she said warmly. “I heard everything and the transmitters are working perfectly for now.  The engine’s purring so let’s not waste any time.”

We climbed into the back of the van although it was a bit tight with Arthur retaining his lupine form.  Agent Straus followed her GPS screen with the target’s location loaded and we set off in pursuit.  As we drove, Sandra reached into a compartment in the van and handed me a yellow and black pistol-like device.  She explained that the team’s tranquilizer darts worked too slowly to be safe so we would have to use electroshock incapacitators instead.  She gave Agent Conrad two and kept one for herself. “It’s not a matter of pain tolerance when dealing with neuromuscular incapacitation.  This thing will hijack his nervous system and he won’t be able to move.  You’ll have five shots but we’ll only need one.”

I turned the device over in my hands and inspected it.  Five thin cartridges were placed side by side at the front of the device.  A red sighting laser under the launching barrel appeared useful but I had doubts.  “What’s the catch?”

“You have to get dangerously close to your target and pray he stands still.”  Arthur answered.

I didn’t like the sound of that but I had experience with such moving targets before.  Of course, I used something much faster than a gas-powered dart.  “Just to be clear, what do you know about this subject we’re after?”

“His name is Damian Lovac and he’s wanted for several homicides across Europe including the deaths of four INTERPOL officers attempting to stop him.  He’s appeared on and off the grid for several months since he can survive in the wilderness for extended periods of time.”  Agent Conrad explained.

“Our network of contacts, both normal humans and werewolves, helped us narrow down his location to this city until we tracked him to that hostel back there.  We wanted to take him outside so he wouldn’t tear through any civilians if he shifted but that proved to be a mistake.” Arthur nodded towards me and I was not sure if he was grinning or irritated with me.  “When you came along he sensed the danger and took off before Noah could talk to him and here we are.”

Agent Straus rounded a corner and told us we were closing in on Damian’s position.  It appeared as if he was heading for a minor dock on the banks of the Vltava River; the perfect way to slip out of the middle of the city and back into the wilderness.  “Do we have a plan because I’d like to avoid repeating tonight’s previous engagements if at all possible?” I asked coolly.

“Noah and Courtney will drop us off and loop around to cover the river bank,” Arthur said. “The three of us will approach from the opposite direction.  I’ll use my senses to find him and lure him into range.  Get a solid dart connection and he’ll go down long enough for us to hit him with a proper sedative dose.”

With everyone in agreement, I threw open the van door and stepped into the cool night air once again.  Arthur and Sandra followed behind me as I disengaged the safety switch on my incapacitator and tested the laser sight.  Sandra did the same and motioned for Arthur to take point.  He lowered himself to the ground on all fours and crept forward cautiously.  I followed a short distance from him and watched him sniff the air and swivel his ears as he searched for Damian.  I tried to listen as well but all I heard were the distant sounds of city traffic.  The lighting was thankfully steadier around the area we moved towards.  Derelict office suite buildings bordered an insubstantial storage structure with empty wooden crates and boxes arranged around its entrance.  Arthur suddenly froze and brought his tail parallel to the ground.  He raised his ears and stiffened his fur which signaled Sandra to stop as well.  His body became rigid until he seemed to communicate with Sandra through a series of ear and tail gestures.  When he was finished he turned to see her nod in confirmation.

Arthur moved ahead into the maze of crates as Sandra translated his message into more simple hand signs for me.  She motioned for me to move forward on her left while she advanced.  We both walked slowly but we took off running when we heard Agent Conrad scream in pain and discharge his incapacitator.

“I have a visual!”  Sandra announced when she caught sight of Damian jumping along the tops of the crates.  Her laser danced across the boxes and she struggled to draw a bead on her target.  The device fired with a quick hiss of air only to have the electrode darts dig into a crate instead of Damian.  “He’s coming to you Art!”

As she ejected her spent dart cartridge, Arthur leapt from behind a stack of crates and ran toward the fugitive.  His less technical method of attack was more successful and sent Damian hurtling to the floor.  Before Arthur could pin him however, the rogue wolf was back on his feet and struck with a blow that caused Arthur to disappear behind another stack.  Looking satisfied with his handiwork, Damian began to weave through the rows of cover to close the distance between him and us.  It was difficult for me to aim at him with the height of the crates.  Damian moved too fast and seemed determined to cut our plan to pieces along with us.  “Sandra!  Behind you!” I shouted as soon as I saw him dash up behind the agent.  I believed my warning saved her life because she was just able to dodge the worst of Damian’s attack.  She twisted her body and dived to the ground; escaping with moderate lacerations on her left leg instead of anything more serious.  Of course, I did not know that at the time and after witnessing her fall I decided I had to end this chase once and for all.

“Are you hurt?!” I asked Sandra.  I looked over her wound and all of the blood on the concrete.

“It’s not so bad.  I’ll lean against the wall over there and do my best to cover you,” she said between winces of discomfort. “I’ll be fine but you have to get this son of bitch.”

I nodded and climbed onto a crate to get a better angle on Damian.  In my new position I was more exposed but it was exactly what I wanted.  “I should have stabbed your heart when I had the chance!” I taunted as I rotated in place, scanning the scene for him.  He must have interpreted my words as a challenge because no sooner did I speak did he reveal himself by crouching on a crate several meters in front of me.

“And I should have ripped little throat out when chance was mine…” he growled in heavily accented English.  My sighting laser played across his chest and my finger tensed on the trigger.  Alright, let’s dance…

My first shot sailed through empty air as Damian rolled to the side.  One.  I adjusted my aim and squeezed off another and another but the wolf was unpredictable.  Two, three, four.  He kept dodging behind cover as I was left with a series of useless wires trailing from the device and only one shot left.  I drew in a breath of brisk air and placed the laser dot over the head of the wolf as he charged.  My heart beat rapidly but my hand was steady when I squeezed the trigger.  And missed.

Suspecting my failure to hit my target, I leapt off the crate in time to avoid Damian’s teeth.  I rolled on the concrete and came into a crouch ready to fight.  The claw marks on my back stung but it only gave me a little anger to focus on the fight.  So much for gadgets.  It looks like I’ll have to do this the old fashioned way.  I tossed the incapacitator aside and drew my dagger from its sheath.

“Still want to stab?” Damian asked with a threatening smile.  I gripped the dagger and entered my balanced fighting stance.  “Foolish little girl.  You are no threat.  No more than the others!”  I looked around.  Sandra was bleeding from the leg and leaning on the wall to my right with a row of crates obscuring her field of fire.  Agents Straus and Conrad were probably down too and Arthur was nowhere to be seen.  “You are all alone.”

“No she’s not.”

“Arthur?” I asked when the tall grey wolf came up behind me.

“I won’t tell you again.  Surrender yourself now or you will be detained forcefully!” he barked.

Damian only dropped on all fours and growled defiantly.  My eyes met Arthur’s and we nodded to each other.  Damian and I charged, crossing the empty space in the field of crates in no time.  His powerful hind legs launched him into the air and he sailed towards me at head level.  At the last moment I slid under him with my dagger held vertically.  The blade sliced into his chest and belly and caused him to howl.  He landed where Arthur waited for him and caught the agent’s claws right in his face.  I leapt to my feet and ran to assist Arthur as Damian fought back.  He barked when I jumped onto his back and drove the dagger deep into his flesh.  Further enraged, Damian ducked his body and flipped me over where I landed on Arthur.

Arthur lost his balanced and we crashed to the pavement.  In a moment that felt like an eternity, Damian slashed into my body with his claws repeatedly.  I tried to defend myself from the attack I believed was meant for Arthur, but Damian only caught my left arm in his mouth and bit down.  I screamed but I lost my voice quite quickly.  Fortunately Arthur kicked our enemy in the leg with a clawed foot with enough force to get him to open his mouth.  Arthur rolled me to safety and resumed his battle.  With what little strength I had left, I propped myself up against the warehouse wall and futilely attempted to stem my bleeding.  I felt lightheaded and found it difficult to concentrate as the two werewolves bit and clawed at each other.  Eventually Damian dropped Arthur on his back and used his incredible strength to keep him down.

“Isabella!” I heard Sandra call my name.  It grew harder to breathe comfortably and it hurt even more to turn my head to see her sitting against the same wall as me.  Her line of fire was still obstructed by crates but as soon as I saw her I understood what she was going to do.  She slid her incapacitator across the concrete and it came to a stop at my leg.  Weary, I picked up the device and brought it to bear on Damian.  The laser wiggled over him and Arthur until my ally saw what I was doing and grabbed Damian’s forearms, dropping him on his side and presenting a much wider target for me.  Nearly all of my energy went into squeezing the trigger and sending the two barbed probes into Damian’s back with a satisfying burst of air followed by a series of rapid electric clicks.  The werewolf instantly went rigid as his muscles tensed.  He could only groan but I kept my finger on the trigger until Arthur stood over him.  I closed my eyes for a moment.  When I opened them again, I could make out Agent Straus handing Arthur a large auto-injecting syringe for him to plunge into Damian.  Agent Conrad stood over the unconscious werewolf with his right arm wrapped in bandages and his left arm brandishing his incapacitator.  “Courtney, call for extract and clean up,” he said calmly until he noticed me. “And make sure they bring full medical tech!  Tell them we have wounded!”

Arthur and Agent Conrad rushed to my side and examined my injuries.  “Did we get him?” I could barely hear my own voice but Arthur nodded.  He smiled in a way I had never seen and held my hand.

“Stay with me.  Hey!  Stay awake!” he shouted.  I forced a smile but I began to drift between consciousness and unconsciousness.  Everyone’s voices sounded distant and blurred together.  I struggled to keep my eyes open but I occasionally failed.  I could see shapes moving in front of me, touching my arms and administering aid but I was beyond feeling anything anymore.

“Her pulse is weak… I’m going to stop the ble-”

“Put Mendez down next to-”

“-eep pressure on that-”

“I brought the kit.”

“-not enough-”

“There’s no time!”

“-going to perform-”

“Field transfusion?  What type is she?”

“-test kit.  O negative."

“Okay, she’s all hooked up.  This should buy her-”

“-ost too much blood.  We don’t have enou-”

“-more.  I’m the only one.”

“Hook him up.”

“-abilizing.  It’s stronger now but still too-”

“Where’s that evac?!”

“Hold on, Isabella, hold on.”

The darkness closed in around my vision and I drifted into the stillness.
…

I could not see anything; the world was formless and white.  I tried to remember my dream but the more I focused the more I remembered that it was real.  I told myself that I should be dead but with every blink I confirmed that I was in fact still alive.  Alive?  Alive and… well? .  Aside from the discomfort of an intravenous needle in my hand I found I was in no pain.  As I regained my eyesight I saw myself in a blue hospital gown covered in thin bed sheets of the same color.  The room appeared accommodating enough and was thankfully more colorful than the sterile white rooms I would have normally associated with a hospital.  If not for the machines around me I would have thought I was inside somebody’s home.  I was soon shaken from my musings by a knock on the door.

“Um, come in.” I said hesitantly.  A man in a white coat entered and left the door open.  His nametag read “Dr. Klein”.

“Good morning Ms. Van Helsing,” he said. “There is no need to be alarmed.  You’re safe now.”  Before I could ask him, he answered my obvious first question. “You’re in a Blackfield operated medical care facility underneath Berlin.”

I blinked hard and my head was filled with more questions.  Underground?  What’s a black field?  How do you know my name?!  Okay, one at a time.   “Berlin?  How long have I been out?”

“Oh, it was about five days but you should be happy to know the procedure was a complete success.  You may not realize how lucky you are.”

“Lucky?  Please understand Dr. Klein, I was bleeding severely after fighting a… creature,” I said. “I don’t remember much after that, but I think you can tell me.  What happened that night?”

Dr. Klein stepped towards the door.  “Perhaps your friends can answer that.  They’ve been waiting for you to regain consciousness.  I’ll send them in.”

He left the room and Sandra, Courtney, Noah and Arthur entered.  Sandra and Noah’s injuries appeared to have been treated and they formed a semi-circle around my bed, smiling.

“You had us scared to death!” Sandra said first.

“I’ve never seen anyone pull through something like that.”  Agent Conrad added. “Does anything still hurt?” I held up my hand to stop them.

“Hold on.  Before we go any further, I need to know what happened.” I stated plainly.  The agents looked at each other, seemingly unsure how to proceed.  At last, Courtney spoke up.

“Damian tore up your chest pretty good.  The only thing that made your injuries there less intense was the fact that he ended up with your arm in his mouth,” she explained in a low voice. “The bite was deep and almost broke your bones but Art kicked him off before that could happen.”

“Wait, so he bit me hard?  Was it long enough to transfer anything?  Am I-”

“No, no, no,” Agent Conrad interrupted. “His bite was still too brief so he didn’t infect you but…”

“But?”

“You lost so much blood…” he continued, shifting his gaze.

“We had to perform a field blood transfusion to keep you alive.  Our evacuation crew was too far away and we didn’t have any choice.”  Sandra said.

“Noah tested your blood type and found that it was O negative,” Courtney said. “We hooked you up to the supply we had in the van’s trauma kit but there wasn’t enough.  Our only option was to use a system the military calls ‘The Walking Blood Bank’ but the only one of us with the only type you could receive was-”

“You…” I said to Arthur who hadn’t spoken the entire time.  He nodded his head and grinned softly.

“I hope you understand and forgive me.” he said.

I felt my arm and ran my hand over my abdomen.  Everything had healed as if nothing happened.  I didn’t feel any different except for a growing sensation in my heart that this event marked the start of something new.  “Forgive you for what?  For saving my life?  No, I should thank you,” I said. “Of course, I thank people with bullets, according to you.”  Arthur smiled and helped me out of the bed.

A nurse entered the room, removed my IV and gave me a fresh pair of clothes.  She mentioned something about micro-seams in the shirt and pants but I was more concerned about seeing where I would go from there.

“You know, the organization wants to congratulate you for your actions.  Damian Lovac won’t be going anywhere for a long time,” Arthur said as we walked down the hall. “If you don’t want to be an agent, the higher ups already made contact with your family and they’re willing to make you a liaison.”

“My family?  You know what we’ve done, right?” I asked. “I don’t think they’d be all that willing to work with an organization that hires werewolves.”

“You worked with us, didn't you?” Agent Conrad said.

“I didn’t say it would be easy at first Isabella, but that’s where you’ll fit in,” Arthur said. “It’s up to you to teach your family what you learned.”
“I can do that.  I know I can.”

Arthur stopped at the elevator to the surface and typed a code into the number pad. “I’m glad to hear that because the world’s still fighting the darkness and we need all the help we can get.”

I looked around at the people standing with me.  Despite any differences between them, I knew they would protect each other and anyone in need whether they were human or a little something more.  They too were soldiers of the light and we were destined to stand together.

“When do we begin?”
…
“I’ve been reading your files and the case report, Ms. Van Helsing.  They provide a very clear picture of your capabilities and I don’t think I’ve ever encountered anyone more ready for field work.  Exceptional critical and fluid thinking skills, phenomenal marksmanship, expert unarmed combat performance and a surprisingly high level of fitness, even for someone of your special nature.  However, papers and computer documents can only reveal so much and I prefer to know the full picture.  I’m sure you understand.  Now I don’t want to alarm you or make you think you didn’t pass or anything but before I welcome you to Blackfield I would like to hear your story in your own words.”

I cleared my throat and gave the training director a smile.  “My name is Isabella and my family had hunted monsters for centuries.  Werewolves, vampires, witches and all the creatures of folklore.  Being a direct decedent of the famous Professor Abraham Van Helsing, we were the soldiers of Christ, ridding the world of the unholy beasts that lurk in the dark and preyed on the pious. But on one fateful night in Prague, my whole life was changed forever...”